860-Year Goddess Mazu Grand Procession in Ipoh

1. Goddess Mazu procession starting from Syeun Hotel, Ipoh

The grand procession of Goddess Mazu (also known as Queen of Heaven, Empress of Heaven or Goddess of the Sea) from Syeun Hotel in Ipoh to the Pasir Pinji Mazu Temple was the climax of the 4-day puja that was conducted at the ballroom of Syeun Hotel since Dec 29 last year.

Over the four days, a series of activities was conducted, including prayers and blessing ceremonies, lion dance, Mazu cultural exchange programme and photography contest.

Said to be the largest Goddess Mazu street procession in Southeast Asia, it was joined in by other Ipoh temples and those from out of state.

After an hour of heavy rain and symbolically washing of the streets, the procession left Syeun Hotel at about 6pm, snaking its way to Jalan Raja Ekram, then headed towards Jalan Sultan Iskandar Shah, turning into Jalan C. M. Yussuf, then Jalan Tokong, passing by Tow Boh Keong temple.

The entourage continued on to Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah, then Jalan Bunga Raya in Pasir Pinji and took a short break at the Tong Tien Koon Temple before proceeding to Jalan Queen, arriving at its final destination of the Pu Ti Yan temple by nightfall.